


The Place We Used to Love

by Kestrelshade



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:15:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23196133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kestrelshade/pseuds/Kestrelshade
Summary: Kelus and Faendal go to the place only they know and reminisce on old times.
Relationships: Faendal (Elder Scrolls)/Original Male Character(s), Male Dovahkiin | Dragonborn/Faendal
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	The Place We Used to Love

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, thank you to Thanatopsiturvy and LyleSnake for being wonderful betas. I am ever grateful for you <3
> 
> I've decided to post more of Kelus and Faendal's old adventures. I'm working on a new fic with them, so stay tuned! Expect one-shots here and there in the near future. :p

Eye the target. Pinpoint a spot you intend to hit. Draw back. Exhale. Release any inner tension, then your arrow.  
Hit the target. If you fail this step, try again. 

And again. And again.

I don’t know how he did it, to be completely honest. He had a way with bending the bow to his will.  
I let an arrow fly. It clipped the tree stump I was aiming at, skittered over the grass, and firmly embedded itself in a nearby tree root.

“Nice one,” the voice behind me teased.

I didn’t turn around. I was used to Faendal poking fun at my archery skills, or lack thereof. Normally, I would laugh off his jokes because I knew he meant no harm. Instead, I sighed. Today was not normal.

I walked over, pried the arrow out of the tree root, and brushed off the debris that was caught on the fletching. Putting the arrow back into my quiver, I made my way to the edge of the glade, unhurried. Faendal was sitting on a stump, carefully watching my “progress.” He cocked his head when I approached.

“Something the matter, Kelus?” he asked, picking up on my gloomy mood.  
I couldn’t hide my feelings from him. We spent too much time together. He knew me too well, now.

I urged him to scoot over, and joined him on the stump, laying the bow aside.  
“I suck at archery. That’s the problem,” I joked.

He frowned. “You’re improving.”  
“All thanks to my patient instructor,” I said, adding, “When we actually get around to practicing.”

Faendal gasped, swatting my arm. “And whose fault is that?”  
I offered a small smile. “Not mine. I mentioned visiting the glade to shoot, but whenever I attempt to practice, I get pounced by a certain Bosmer.”

Faendal inched closer to me, our noses almost touching. 

“You found this place. Perhaps you planned this,” he said, trailing his fingers up my thigh.

I gulped. He was right. 

I had stumbled across the glade by pure accident while taking a walk to clear my head. After I suggested that Faendal travel with me to High Hrothgar, we stopped speaking for several days. Neither of us were angry at the other, but he needed time to think before getting in over his head. I respected him as a friend to know that he needed space.

My brow wrinkled imperceptibly, but I attempted to shrug off those concerns for as long as possible.  
These thoughts flickered in the back of my mind as I made motions to kiss him, before pausing and backing away.

“I’ll admit, my archery instructor is easy to distract.”

He made a noise of discontentment. 

“Now you’re just being mean.”

I laughed, rising to my feet once more. I offered Faendal my hand.  
“Me? I don’t know anyone nicer. Other than you, Fae,” I said.

He took my hand with a grin, and I pulled him close.

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Kel.” 

I didn’t respond right away. My fingers clutched his shoulder, holding tighter than usual. 

“Fae?”

Faendal gazed into my eyes, content to stay in my embrace. “Yes, Kel?”  
“Remember the first time I showed you this place?”

He tilted his head. “You’re kidding, right? How could I ever forget?”

It was a stupid question, I know. Under these same trees, Faendal had confessed his feelings to me. He hadn’t known the extent of my own at the time. It came as a shock for both of us to have them reciprocated.

I ran my left hand down his side, resting on his waist. Faendal must have read my mind, for we slowly began to rock around the glade.

“I spent so many months watching you in silence,” I admitted, “You never had any idea, did you?”

Faendal swallowed thickly in reply, “I was never completely sure; I spent a lot of time wondering, myself, until that day. It took ages to stop feeling guilty.”

I paused, faltering as I bumped into him. “Guilty?”

Faendal recovered quickly; he led the impromptu dance around the clearing, his steps distracted.  
“Camilla and I...we were never going to work out, and you were so supportive, I…” he choked out. “I couldn’t believe that you would put our happiness before your own.” 

I shrugged. “I wanted my best friend to be happy, even if it wasn’t with me.” 

He shook his head, staring at me, tenderly cupping my face in his hand. “Like I said, I don’t understand. Had it been me…”

I placed my hand atop his. “We would have been in the same predicament, Fae,” I said warmly.

Faendal pressed closer, 'til there was no space left between us. “What’s really on your mind?”

The silence ambled along with our footsteps.

“I’m going to miss this place,” I said, finally.  
“Don’t say it like that, Kel. We’ll see it again.”

I wasn’t so sure. Everytime we left Riverwood, we stayed away for longer stretches of time. This time, we only stopped in Riverwood for a brief visit. Come morning, we would be off to High Hrothgar again. I needed to speak with Paarthurnax, perhaps for the last time, but I hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

We continued to dance around the glade.  
“You’re thinking.”  
“Does it ever cross your mind that we may never return to the glade?"  
Faendal’s hand caressed my jaw. “Kel, that's terrible." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "But, to answer your question, yes." 

“You, too?” I asked, not hiding my surprise.

He leaned into me, resting his head on my shoulder. “Ever since I met you, I’ve known that you would have to eventually face off against Alduin. I followed you knowing that risk.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but he interrupted me, his voice muffled in the cloth of my shirt.  
“We can worry about Alduin later.”

I had forgotten the unspoken rule of the glade: only pleasant memories were allowed to be created here.  
I laughed softly. “Fair enough.”

I didn’t want to spend time dwelling on events yet to come. Right now, I was safe, with Faendal, of all mer, in my arms. How did I get so lucky?

As we danced, tranquil and adrift, I took in the surrounding area. Although I haven’t seen Skyrim in its entirety, I doubted that I could find another place so undisturbed. I had found a secret, a precious gem locked away. A cool breeze broke through the trees, ruffling our hair. We were careful not to trip over branches, shaken loose from the recent storm. The grass, plush underfoot, was a vibrant green, refreshed by the rains. The clearing was fairly large; wildflowers and mushrooms grew in abundance. 

In the past, Faendal had to stop me from chewing on unidentified mushrooms. “You can’t get better at alchemy if you’re dead.”

Every spot in this remote clearing had memories associated with it. The stumps scattered about the clearing were scarred from repeated target practice. I would feel the ghosting of his fingers as he massaged my shoulders, ever so tense after his rigorous archery instruction. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, warming my skin like the heat of his breath as he explored the column of my neck. 

I would sit beside him, sunning on a boulder in the clearing. He never noticed when I stared in quiet adoration. His eyes were always closed, face raised to the sun, a content smile spreading wide across it. White hair reflected the light, and sometimes I didn’t know what glowed brighter: the sun or Faendal.

My gaze landed on the oak when we passed by it. The tree arced protectively over the smaller trees and its inhabitants. A rush of affection swelled in my chest just from seeing the oak.

I blushed. Exciting things had happened underneath that particular tree. I could still remember the bark pressing into my back as he kissed me. It embarrassed me initially that he was the first person I had ever kissed, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He appeared enthused to be the only mer in Skyrim who had caught my eye.

Nobody else had discovered the glade to our knowledge. We couldn’t always get away from the village, and weeks would go by without a visit. Whenever we finally returned, it was always a relief to see the glade, untouched and waiting for us.

This was one of the rare times we could get away. The gentle brush of a hand on a thigh. A reassuring pat on the shoulder. Walking close together down a dirt path that stretched for miles. Life on the road was rough for two lovers, who, by all accounts, shouldn’t have ended up together in the first place.

So, I said, “screw what fate has in store for us,” and retreated to the glade with Faendal, to the place only we knew.

I made up my mind. “Faendal,” I said quietly into his ear.  
Faendal looked up at me, his dark eyes soft and wide. “Yes, Kelus?”

We had looped around the clearing in our slow dance and now stood in the shade of the oak tree.  
I ran my hand down Faendal’s chest, pushing him back against the tree’s trunk. His breath hitched, his eyes locked to mine.

I gave him the kiss I withheld from him earlier. He was warm and eager against me, and seemed disappointed when I broke away from him. 

“Want to stay here for tonight?” I asked. 

I received my answer in the form of a kiss that left my head spinning.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Faendal wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me in for another kiss.

It would be awhile before we left the glade where we began.


End file.
